Technology giant Apple has once again raised the bar in professional computing equipment, introducing its latest generation of Mac Studio desktop computers. Retaining the ultra-compact aluminum chassis familiar from 2022, the machines receive a drastic jump in performance thanks to the M5 Max and M5 Ultra architectures. Starting prices in the US market are set at $2,499 for the M5 Max modifications and $5,499 for the versions with the M5 Ultra chipset, with orders open from August 25, and the first deliveries starting on September 22.
The central place in the new range is occupied by the M5 Ultra processor, defined by Cupertino engineers as a true cornerstone in the development of artificial intelligence hardware. The unit implements a concept by combining two M5 Max crystals through a special bus, providing a phenomenal throughput of over 4.4 TB/s. In its maximum configuration, the chip has a 36-core central processor (12 high-performance supercores and 24 efficient cores) and an impressive 80-core graphics accelerator, in which each graphics unit is equipped with its own neural module. Compared to the M3 Ultra generation, it reports up to 4.3 times higher peak AI power, 1.8 times improvement in graphics and 1.3 times higher multi-threaded speed.
The M5 Max version does not give up in terms of flexibility, offering an 18-core processor, up to 40 graphics cores and a unified memory bandwidth of 614 GB/s with a maximum volume of 128 GB. However, the flagship M5 Ultra pushes the boundaries significantly further - the RAM reaches a record 512 GB with a total transfer of 1.2 TB/s. This top version will be available on the market at the end of October.
The file subsystem also undergoes a general overhaul of the architecture with a transition to the PCI Express 6.0 interface, guaranteeing twice as fast reading and writing compared to previous generations. The built-in controller allows simultaneous operation with up to eight external monitors or up to four Studio Display XDR display panels with 5K resolution at 120Hz refresh. Connectivity is provided by the proprietary N1 chipset, adding support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, as well as six Thunderbolt 5 ports.
A key new functionality for the corporate segment is the ability to combine several Mac Studio units into a common computing AI cluster. Using the RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) protocol over the Thunderbolt 5 interface, the connected systems directly access their RAM, building a single shared array. A configuration of four connected M5 Ultra computers provides up to a three-fold increase in performance when processing large open source language models in a local environment.
The new systems will be shipped with the macOS 27 Golden Gate operating system, which is currently undergoing a public beta testing phase. The software package includes fully updated features from the Apple Intelligence suite and an upgraded Siri voice assistant, and its final version will be available as a free update later this fall.